A weekly plan for your au pair: why clear working hours make everyday life easier
When am I working tomorrow? Who's picking the children up on Wednesday? When is my language course? Am I babysitting on Friday evening? And am I off on Saturday?
Especially when several children, school, kindergarten, therapies, clubs, a language course and the parents' differing working hours all come together, a weekly plan for the au pair is one of the simplest ways to bring structure and security into family life.
At Besondere Sterne, we therefore recommend that our host families plan the working hours and most important appointments for each week together with their au pair and write them down.
How many hours may an au pair work?
In Germany, an au pair may generally help with childcare and light household tasks for a maximum of six hours a day and no more than 30 hours a week.
This limit applies to the total working time.
This includes, for example:
- childcare
- drop-off and pick-up times
- light household tasks
- preparing simple meals
- accompanying the children to appointments or leisure activities
- babysitting in the evening
It's precisely the last point that's quickly forgotten.
Babysitting counts towards the au pair's working time.
If your au pair looks after the children for three hours on Friday evening, those three hours must be taken into account when planning the week.
An au pair doesn't have to work six hours in a row
A weekly plan may be based on the family's actual needs.
Perhaps you need support from 7:00 to 8:30 in the morning, while the children are then at school and kindergarten for several hours.
In the afternoon you then need the au pair again from 14:00 to 18:30.
Such a split can be possible too.
What matters, however, is this: the hours between the agreed working times are the au pair's free time, not automatic standby time.
An au pair does live in the same house, but that doesn't mean they're available to the family around the clock.
Plan the language course in from the start
The au pair year is about cultural exchange and learning German.
That's why the au pair's language course should have a fixed place in the weekly plan.
Whether the German course takes place online or in person depends on the particular course and on the au pair.
If it takes place outside the house, necessary travel time should also be taken into account.
If, for example, the language course takes place every Tuesday and Thursday morning, these appointments can be fixed in the weekly plan from the outset.
That way, there's no need to discuss it afresh every week.
It's best to go through the weekly plan together on Sundays
Even though many routines are similar from week to week, there are always changes.
A doctor's appointment. A child's birthday party. A football match. A school event. A parents' evening. Babysitting on Friday.
That's why we recommend sitting down together for a short while once a week and going through the coming week.
Sunday works well for that in many families.
It doesn't have to be a one-hour family meeting.
Ten or fifteen minutes is often enough:
What's coming up this week?
When will the au pair be needed?
What appointments do the children have?
When is the language course?
Is babysitting planned?
Are there any changes compared to a normal week?
Afterwards, both sides know exactly what the coming week looks like.
Write important appointments in concretely
“Look after the children in the afternoon” is often too vague for a good weekly plan.
It's better, for example, to write:
- Monday, 14:30: pick Emma up from school
- 15:30: swimming with Emma
- 17:00: back home
The newer the au pair is to the family, the more concrete the plan may be.
As routine builds up, of course, not every little detail needs to be written down any more.
A weekly plan in German and English
Especially at the start of the au pair year, we recommend keeping important information in both German and English wherever possible.
This doesn't just help with understanding.
The au pair also keeps seeing the German terms again and again and can learn them over time.
“Pick up from kindergarten” eventually becomes, quite naturally, „vom Kindergarten abholen“.
In this way, a weekly plan can quietly become part of everyday language learning too.
One plan on the fridge – one for the au pair
The finished weekly plan should be kept or hung up somewhere it's actually seen in everyday life.
The fridge or a family pinboard is a good spot, for example.
That way, parents and au pair can check it at any time.
In addition, the au pair can have their own copy or keep the plan digitally on their phone.
Especially at the start, a printed plan in their own room gives extra security.
Because no one should have to remember all of a new family's appointments after just a few days.
Please discuss changes in good time
Of course, family life doesn't always run exactly to plan.
Appointments shift. A child gets ill. School is cancelled. Parents have to work longer.
A weekly plan may therefore be flexible too.
Flexibility does not, however, mean:
“You're at home anyway – can you just take over?” (Translated)
If working hours need to change, discuss this with your au pair as early as possible and make sure the agreed daily and weekly working hours continue to be kept to.
After all, the au pair is also planning their language course, friends, appointments and free time.
The weekly plan doesn't replace daily conversation
A written plan is wonderful – but it doesn't replace communication.
Short conversations in passing remain part of everyday life.
“Remember, school finishes at 1 p.m. today.” (Translated)
“The sports kit is already by the door.” (Translated)
“I'll be half an hour later today.” (Translated)
The au pair may just as well ask:
“Should I take the children straight to the playground after school today?” (Translated)
These small conversations prevent misunderstandings and make sure the written plan actually works in real family life.
Weekly and daily plans as support from Besondere Sterne
Host families with Besondere Sterne don't have to create such a plan from scratch themselves.
Our families receive ready-made templates for a weekly plan and a daily plan from us, which they can fill in together with their au pair.
The templates help to record working hours, the language course, childcare and important appointments clearly, so that no important point is forgotten, especially in the early days.
Our host families will find further details and guidance directly in the documents we provide.
A clear weekly plan doesn't mean less flexibility
A fixed plan can sound very strict at first.
In reality, it often achieves exactly the opposite.
If the au pair knows when they're needed, they also know when they're free.
If the family knows when the au pair is taking over, they can organise their own day better.
And if all the important appointments are written down visibly, no one has to keep asking.
A good weekly plan for an au pair therefore achieves one thing above all:
Reliability for both sides.
And it's exactly this reliability that forms one of the best foundations for many separate appointments eventually turning into relaxed, shared family life.
